Vietnam Rises as Next China for Korean Investment
OCT 05, 2012 | arirang.co.kr
[video]http://www.arirang.co.kr/Player/News_Vod.asp?code=News&nSeq=138164[/video]
This bakery is located in one of the most crowded shopping centers in
Hanoi. The shop attracts a steady stream of local Vietnamese customers with fresh products and friendly service.
The shop is part of the Korean bakery chain
Tous les Jours, and its popularity has led its parent company CJ Foodville to announce it is planning to open 10 more shops in Vietnam by the end of the year.
[Interview : Nam Young-hyun, General Manager Tous les Jours, CJ Foodville]
"Because the biggest bakery franchise in Vietnam has around 26 to 28 stores, I believe it's perfectly feasible for Tous les Jours to become the leading bakery brand by the end of the year. We already have 20 branches around the nation."
Like Tous les Jours, many major Korean companies are venturing into the Vietnamese market.
They include food companies like
Lotteria and
BBQ as well as the construction company
Keangnam Enterprises,. which invested more than 1.1 billion U.S. dollars to build the country's tallest building.
Tech giant
Samsung Electronics and steel maker
Posco have built factories in Vietnam, with each company investing 670-million dollars and 620-million dollars, respectively. It's no surprise that Korea stands as Vietnam's second largest investor nation, with its total investment reaching nearly 24-billion dollars.
For Korean companies, Vietnam is rising as the next China.
[Interview : Hwang Yung-jin, General Manager Shinhan Bank, Hanoi]
"We believe the Vietnamese market is the most competitive and profitable market for our bank. In the Vietnamese market, we have a lot of investment of Korean . These days, the number is more than three-thousand."
The impetus for Korean companies' active push into the country lies in the Vietnamese economy, which is growing at an annual rate of five to eight percent on average.
The energy of the young generation, which makes up more than half of the country's population, is another factor that attracts foreign investment.
[Interview : Kim Dong-jin, General Manager Vietnam Lotteria, Hanoi]
"The population of Vietnam is almost 90-million and nearly 70 percent of the population is in their 20s and 30s. This means the country has a large workforce and a huge consumer market."
According to a recent report by the World Bank, the business climate in Vietnam last year was more favorable than in countries with bigger economies like China and India. Vietnam is also enacting and revising investment laws to create a more friendly environment for foreign investors.
[Reporter : Hwang Ji-hye]
"And as
free trade agreement talks between Korea and Vietnam are ongoing, experts expect two-way trade and human resource exchanges to get a boost.
Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News, Hanoi."
Arirang News
